Method of and means for hermetically sealing containers



April 20 1926. 1,581,401

M. MUELLER METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR HERMETI'CALLY SEALING lCONTAINERS Filed June 15, 1,922

Patented Apr. 2o, 1926.

' it contemplates the application of a thin UNITED STATES l1,581,401 PATENT OFFICE..

MAX MUELLER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO CELLO PRODUCTS INCOR- PORATED,- OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF-NEW YORK.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR HERMETICALLY SEALING CONTAINERS. i

Application filed :rune 1.3, 1922. seriai Na. 567,911.

To (1.72 whom t may conce/rn.:

Means for'I-Iermetically Sealing Containers,

of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to a method, and means for practicing the same, of hermetical`.y sealing containers. More particularly coating of a substance to the closure of a container, such as a stopper for a bottle.

readily and economically hermeticially sealed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method for the application of a thin coating of a substance in liquid form which may be readily set or fixed so as to constitute an air-tight seal about .the opening of acontainer.

Another object isthe provision of means for sealing a container in a simple man-ner and at the same time obtain a uniform distribution of the substance forming the seal.

A furthe-r object of the invention is the provisions of means whereby the closure of a container may be hermetically sealed by a substance applied in liquid form, uniformly distributed and Set or` fixed within a predetermined period of time.V

More specifically the invention contemplates the setting of a cellulose acetate varnish in the vapor of the solvent of the cellulose acetate,

Other objects of the invention, havingto do with various features of construction and arrangement ofvparts, will manifest themselves upon a reading of the following description and appended claims.

It has been proposed hertofore to seal a container air-tight by dipping, for example, the closure ofthe container `in a substance held in solution and then permitting the solution to evaporate to dryness in the air.

This method is very slow and -not entirely satisfactory because of the time consumed in practicing it and vbecause the seal resulting therefrom is not firmly set or does not have a surface impervious to moisture, etc.

l, have discovered that by musing a dipped container to be retained in the vapor of the solvent used to dissolve the seal-forming substance, the substance is much more easily Set or hardened and that the seal formed thereby is free from intersticesfand impervious to moisture.

In utilizing this discovery I provide means for holding a quantity of a sealforming substance dissolved in any suitable solvent. This supply is automatically fed into a receptacle substantially located in a hood member and designed to provide a large surface area. for exposing the solution received therein. Means are provided for carrying a plurality of containers which may be placed thereon after the closure of each of said containers has been dipped in the seal-forming substance. The carrier for the container is adapted to rotate 'or travel within the hood vmember so that any container placed thereon willfbe held in an atmosphere of the vapor of the solve-nt of the lseal-forming substance during the passage of the containers through said hoed member. By properly designing the apparatus for practicing my invention it is possible to predetermine the period of time required for coating the closure of a given container and converting the coating into a hermetic seal. The apparatus contemplated by my invention also embodies means for effecting a uniform distribution of the sealforming substance during its fixation period.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a detail of the ratchet mechanism for advancing the carrier for objects passe ing through the machine; v

Fig. 3 is a section of a container contacting with the device for rotating the containers on the carrier;

Fig. 4 is a sectional AView of an attachi able chuck for holding the objects placed on the carrier; and t Fig. 5 is an end view of the -chuck shown' in Fig. 4.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several ii res.

The portion of the machine s own in Fig.

.1 comprises a reservoir 1, preferably of cyinverted position upon what may be termed a hub portion 2 of the enclosing cabinet 3 and is placed in communication withl a trough 4 formed in the bottom of the cabinet 3 by means ofeonnecting pipes or tubes 5, which are radially disposed with' thereof in the trough 4 is automatically regulated by the height of the outlet of the reservoir 1 in the hub 2; that is, the liquid will not reach a level materially higher than the height of said outlet. To drain the trough 4 an aperture is provided which may be closed by a stopper 6.

Preferably formed integrally with a trough 4 is a compartment or hood member 7 concentrically arranged with respect to the hub 2 and provided with a removable cover 8. The height of the hood 7 is such as to conveniently accommodate a carrier 9, and articles such as bottles and the like supported thereon. The carrier may be formed from sheet metal having upturned edges provided with V-shaped notches 11. Articles are placed in the notched portions during their travel through the hood 7. The carrier 9 is supported upon a track 12 and is rotatable thereon by means of rollers 13. Intermittently spaced andv depending downwardly are a plurality of pins 14 which are concentrically arranged and adapted to be engaged by a pawl 15 of the ratchet mechanism for advancing the carrier 9 in a step by step manner. The ratchet mechanism may comprise a bellcrank lever 16 suitably fulcrumed so as to have a long arm 17 extend upwardly and engage with a connecting pin 18 for the pawl 15. The pawl 15 is maintained in engagement with the several pins 14 by means of a spring 19. A rod 20 connected to the short arm of the bellcrank lever 10 and terminating in any suitable device, such as a t-readle (not shown) or the like, furnishes means for operating the ratchet mechanism. A helical spring 21 normally maintains the ratchet mechanism in an advanced position so that a thrust exerted on the rod 20 effects the rotation of the carrier 9 one step. By removing the thrust on the rod 20 the ratchet mechanism is restored to normal position and the carrier may again be advanced another step. In this manner articles supported on the carrier are advanced step by step through the hood 7.

To effect the uniform distribution of the seal-forming substance upon the closure of the containers dipped therein, there is provided a friction member 22 pivotally mounted by being suspended between thc` side walls of the hood and positioned so as to contact with any object placed upon the carrier while passing thereunder. To afford increased resistance from the friction member 22, a spring member 23 may be coiled about the supporting rod of the member 22 and have one of its ends attached to said member and the other anchored to theside wall of the hood 7. yThe under or opposing surface of the member 22 is preferably provided with a suitable friction material 24.- This friction material insures a positive or firm contact with the opposing surface of any article passing thereunder and provides a means forthe partial rotation of said article. It is obvious that a plurality of friction members 22 may be provided at various places in the hood 7 and that the degree of rotation of the articles engaging therewith in each instance will depend upon the width of the frictior, surface actually brought into contact with the engaged article.

For the accommodation of containers of various sizes and especially those having a contour out of which would make it more or less impossible to rotate such a container by means of the friction member 22, I provide an attachable chuck such as shown in Figure 4. This chuck is designed to be attached to the carrier 9 at the point where.

the V-shaped notches 11 are made therein. The chuck comprises a pair of oppositely disposed L-shaped supports 27 and 28 which are provided with holes adapted to cooperate with slots made in a U-shape-d base member 40, the latter being secured to the'carrier 9 in an inverted position by means of tap bolts 29. Bolts 30, inserted in the ape-rtured portions of the members 27, 28 and 40 make it possible to move transversely the support members 27 and 28 so as to permit the insertion therebetween of containers of different lengths. The support 27 carries an adjustable chuck head 31 comprising a face plate 32 having on the rear thereof a spindle 33 adapted to be inserted in a hub 34 formed at the extremity of an arm member 35, which latter member has its lower end slidably engaging with the support 27 by means of a suitable slot through which is inserted a bolt 36. On' the front of the face plate 32 is mounted a pair of resilient fingers or spring members 37 which are suitably anchored at one end 'and are provided withv such a shape as to receive containers pro-v vided with various configurations in trans verse cross-section. The support member 28 carries a bifurcated member 38 which is adjustable vertically by mean-s of a slot made in the lower end thereof which accommodates a suitable set screw 39.

For the purpose oi' rotating the face plate 32 and consequently the supported container,

an adjustable friction member 42 is provided to frictionally engage with the periphery of the plate 32 u on which a. friction pad 43 may be secured. n giving the friction member 42 a curved configuration the degree of rotation of the plate 32 may be predetermined by regulating the length of said member.

Inasmuch as the head 31' is transversely atl-- justable to receive containers of various engths the friction plate is also adjustable to accommodate these variations in the position of the face plate 32. For this purpose a rectangular bracket 44 is provided having one leg with a slot 45, in which the shank of a bolt 46 may be passed to secure the bracket to the side wall of the hood 7 of the cabinet 3. The bolt 46 may extend through the same aperture as employed for receiving an end of the shaftupon which the friction member 22 is supported, it beingl understood that the member 22 may be removed when the chuck device is employed to handle containers of other than cylindrical shape. By means of the bolt 46 and the slot-45 the bracket 44 may be adjusted vertically. The

friction plate 42 may, however, be moved horizontally7 to provide for the variations in the lengths of the container-s to be handled. -A slot 47 is, therefore, disposed in the other leg 48 of the bracket and the friction plate 42 may b e provided with a stud 49 positioned in the slot 47. A suitable nut is provided to secure the friction plate 42 at a desired position along the leg 48.

It'will be appreciated that the chuck device illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is a unitary structure and may loe conveniently attached or removed from the carrier 9. For this purpose the carrier 9 is provided with tapped holes 51 suit-ably spaced, through which the tap bolts 29 may be screwed.

Although any satisfactory seal-forming substance may be employed, I have obtained good results with a cellulose acetate varnish which may be prepared by dissolving cellulose acetate in ace`tone. This substancemay be given a consistency`so as to -flow freely from the reservoir 1 into the trough 4. In the event the article desired to be hermetically sealed is a bottle the neck thereof with a stopper inserted is dipped into the varnish and placed upon the carrier 9 or inserted in one of the chuck devices, withv the neck positioned to drain into the trough 4. The hoodv 7 by confining the vapor of the acetone so as to substantially create an at- .mosphere thereof, provides effective means for rapidly setting the cellulose acetate that has been applied to the bottle neck. The gradual. setting of this substance will per- .mit the formation of a drop 'thereof on the lower port-ion of the neck of the bottle. As the bottle is advanced through the hood 7 it will eventually contact with the friction member 22 and in passing thereunder will be rotated a certain degree preferably in the neighborhood of 180 in the event that there is only one such member provided. Before the carrier makes a complete-revolution with respect to a given container. the y period of elapsed time lwill be such that the acetone contained in the portion of the varnish applied to the closure of said container will have had an opportunity to evaporate. This evaporation -is materially accelerated by the presence of the vapor of the solvent, i. e., acetone.

- v My invention may be practiced in the following manner. It is to be appreciated that the hood 7 is not entirely cylindrical in shape, thatis, a segment thereof is left 'open to provide means whereby a container, such as a round bottle, may be dipped in the sealforming substance placed in the trough 4. This substance establishes its own level in the trough 4 upon being fed from the reser- Voir 1 and is automatically renewed as fast as it is consumed. The operative immerses the neck'of the bottle, which has been closed by the insertion of a stopper, into the seali forming substance and places the dipped bottle uponthe rack 9 with the neck thereof projecting over the trough 4 so that an excess of the substance may drain thereinto. A downward thrust is then exerted -upon the rod 20, `which through the .ratchet mechanism controlled thereby, effects the rotation of the carrier 9 one step in a counter-clockwise direction. The operative repeats this sequence of operations andas a given one of the bottles proceeds through the hood 9 it' comes into engagementl with the friction member 22 thereby being partially rotated. As explained above, there may be a plu- -Iality of the friction members 22 and the degree of rotation of the bottle will dependl upon the' design'and spacing of said members. In anyevent the bottle is rotated suiiiciently to effect a uniform distribution of the seal-forming substance over the closure thereof lwith the result that when. the bottle is. removed from the machine ahermetic sealuniformly distributed will be formed about the closure.

From the foregoing description, it may be.

seen that the principal features of my invention reslde in the provision of a method.,

and means forpracticing the same, for.`

effecting the setting of a seal-forming sub.- stance in the vapor of the solvent thereof.

While my invention has been set forth in certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that modifications may be made by those'skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, automatic means, such 4as a cam arrangement, maybe used for rotating the carrier 9; the seal-forming substance may be sprayed on instead of beingdipped, etc., but all such modifications are desired to be retainer through the vapor of the acetone.

garded as contemplated. by the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Where the term closure is used in the specification and claims, it is lWished to be understood as including not. only the stopper of a bottle, for example, but also that portion of the bottle neck immediately adjacent the mouth thereof.

" What is claimed is:

l. The method of hermetically sealing a containerwhich consists in applying to the closure of the container a substance in liquid form and effecting the setting of said su'bstance in the vapor of the solvent thereof.

2.-The`method of hermetically sealing a container which consists in applying to the closure of the container a substance in liquid form and effecting the setting of said substance in the vapor of the solvent thereof and. uniformly distributing the substance during the setting period.

3. The method of hermetically sealing a container which consists in'applying to the closure of the container a seal-forming varnish and effecting the setting of said varnish in the vapor of the solvent of the substance constituting the body of the varnish and uniformly distributing the varnish during the setting period.

4. The method of hermetically sealing a container` which consists in dissolving cellulose acetate in acetone, dipping the closure of the container in the solution formed therefrom and effecting the setting `of the cellulose acetate by passing the dipped con- 5. The `method of hermetically sealing 4a container which consists in dissolving cellulose acetate in acetone, dipping the closure of the container in the solution formed therefrom, effecting the setting of the cellulose acetate by passing the dipped container through the vapor of the acetone, and partially rotating said dipped container during the seal-forming period.

6. In a sealing machine, means for holding a quantity ofa seal-forming substance in liquid form, means for exposing a large surface area of said substance, means for confining the vapor of the solvent thereof to a restricted area, and means for passing a container through the atmosphere of said solvent, the closure of which has been provided with a quantity of said substance.

7. In a sealing machine, means for holding a quantity of a seal-forming substance in liquid form, means for exposing a large surface area of said subst-ance, means for coniining the vapor of the solvent thereof to a restricted area, and means for passing a container through then atmosphere of said solvent, the closure of which has been provided With a quantity of said substance, and means for uniformly distributing said substance during the seal-forming period.

8. A sealing machine comprising a reservoir for holding a substance in liquid form, a trough, means for automatically feeding said substance from said reservoir to said trough, a compartment for confining the vapor of the solvent of said substance to a restricted area, a carrier for supporting a plurality of containers the closures of Which have been dipped in said substance, and means for successively advancing the dipped containers through said compartment penetrated by the vapor of the solvent of said substance.

9. A sealing machine comprising a reservoir for holding a substance in liquid form,

a trough, means for ,automatically feeding said substance from said reservoir to said trough, a carrier for supporting a plurality of containers the closures of Which have been dipped in said substance,` means for ladvancing -said carrier step by step, a compartment through Which said carrier is adapted to travel and which is penetrated by the vapor of the solvent of said substance and means for uniformly distributing said applied substance during its setting period.

10. A sealing machine comprising a reservoir for holding a substance in liquid form, a trough, means for automatically feeding said substance from said reservoir to said trough, a carrier adapted to rotatably support a plurality of containers the closures of which have been dipped in said substance,'

meansfor advancing said carrier step by step, a compartment through Which said carrier is adapted to travel and which is penetrated by the vapor of the solvent of said substance, and means for eecting the partial rotation of said container during the V advancement of said carrier,`whereby the applied portion of said substance is uniformly distributed.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of June 1922.

MAX MUELLER. 

